Punch Telematix is entering the Polish market
2 October 2009 by LS
Punch Telematix is intensifying its Europe-wide strategy of growth and is entering the Polish market. As one of the leading providers of integrated telematics applications, the company - which has its head offices in Belgium - has now started direct marketing of the "CarCube". The objective of the new branch, which belongs to Punch Telematix Deutschland GmbH, is to use the on-board computer that is already established in other European countries to gain a double-digit market share within one year.
"We have a mature product based on future-proof technology. That's why we're convinced we can become one of the leading providers of telematics systems in Poland in just a short time," says Grzegorz Ogrodowski, the sales manager for Poland. The Polish branch can already point to its first successes. For instance, 140 CarCube units have been sold to the logistics services provider MIRATRANS. A deciding factor in this company's decision, in addition to the professional advice during the pilot phase, was the problem-free integration into its existing logistics processes. The equipment is then being built in by Punch Telematix employees or certified fitting and service partners.
The CarCube is a fully equipped on-board computer that has been developed specially for the transport and logistics sector. In addition to Europe-wide GPS navigation and hands-free equipment, the complete system has a dual-band modem (GSM/GPRS) as standard, allowing the transport centre to determine both the current location of the vehicle and its speed in real time. On top of that, peripheral devices such as a scanner or temperature sensors can be connected up to the on-board computer. Recorded details of revs, speed and the route taken in addition to evaluation of the vehicle data allow the fuel consumption to be worked out.
"One of the core benefits of our system is that it provides the relevant information for both the driver and the centre in real time," says Ogrodowski, who has worked in the transport and logistics sector for almost fifteen years. Unlike the solutions of many of its competitors, the CarCube from Punch shows they are going for a purely Internet-based solution (ASP/XML integration), so that the centres can view, retrieve and evaluate the vehicle data using an Internet browser. Similarly, instructions or messages can be transmitted for the driver, who gets all the information via an easy-to-operate touchscreen monitor in his truck cab.
Given the capabilities of the CarCube - which is one of the best-selling telematics solutions for transport and logistics services in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium - Ogrodowski is concentrating primarily on building up and expanding the distribution structures. "We want to talk specifically to companies who are not so much looking for an on-board computer as for a complete and established solution that can be integrated quickly and simply into the existing processes. That's what we want to do, and we're really going to go for it over the next few years."
The next opportunity for interested parties to see the CarCube in action will be on 13 October at the Truck & Business Event in Warsaw.